


You still look like a movie

by elareine



Series: Advent Calendar 2019 [13]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teachers, Chance Meetings, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Matchmaking, Mutual Pining, NO CAPES, Second Chances
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:08:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21783478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elareine/pseuds/elareine
Summary: This was good, Wally thought as he followed Jason through even more corridors. He'd get to see Dick again, but he'd have time to prepare for it. Once he sorted through the mix of dread and joy rushing through him at the prospect, he'd be fine. Great, even. Totally cool.They turned a corner and Jason called out: "Yo, Dick, check out who just joined our school!"
Relationships: Dick Grayson/Wally West, Tim Drake/Jason Todd (side)
Series: Advent Calendar 2019 [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1558834
Comments: 2
Kudos: 190





	You still look like a movie

**Author's Note:**

> Advent calendar day thirteen: When we were young - Adele.

When Gotham Academy offered him a position, Wally jumped at the chance. He’d trained as a teacher here, after all, and he thought the city could use all the help it could get.

The memories of grad school were a mixed bag, as these things tended to be. Living prices in Gotham had been low, still were, which had been what allowed Wally to truly break away from his father for the first time. He’d made his first best friend here and had his heart broken. 

That had been ten years ago, though. When he arrived at school the week before the term started, Wally was determined to make new memories.

His hiring had been kinda last-minute, so he didn’t expect any arrangements to have been made for his first day. Apparently, the old teacher had been kidnapped by a clown-penguin or something? Gotham was so weird. 

But there was a figure waiting for him at the gates. And he looked familiar.

Wally blinked. “Jason?” 

Jason Todd grinned and ground out his cigarette. “Hi, Wally. I’m your welcome committee.”

So Dick’s delinquent little brother had grown up to become a teacher, too, huh? Who’d have thought? The students they met on the corridors clearly liked him, though, judging by the enthusiastic greetings they got. Jason was kinda doing a half-assed job of showing him around, though, soon abandoning it entirely to drag Wally into one of the classrooms. 

A pale, dark-haired young man gave Jason a wave, then smiled politely at Wally. “Hi, I don’t think we’ve met.” 

Wally was about to introduce himself, but Jason intervened. “Wally, this is Tim Drake. He teaches CS and, occasionally, Math. Tim, this Wally, our new Chemistry teacher.” 

“West?” Tim asked, peering at Wally’s face. “Wait, are you _that_ Wally?” 

“Uhm.” Wally didn’t know how to answer that question. 

Luckily, Jason seemed to know exactly what Tim was talking about. “Yes. Yes, he is.” 

Wally watched in confusion as Tim’s smile suddenly turned a lot more genuine. “Welcome to Gotham Academy, then, Wally. I’ve heard a lot about you.” 

Wally was just going to ignore that. “Thanks. Good to be here. You another brother?” Wally had always bet Dick that Bruce Wayne’s adoptions wouldn’t stop at two. That man screamed ‘father energy’ as loudly as ‘will not be in a stable long-term relationship.’ Of course, he’d adopt. 

“Sort of.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Definitely. You know that if we’d divorce, Bruce would sign the papers in a heartbeat.” 

“I’m a grown man.” 

“You think that’ll stop him?” 

Oh. Okay, then. 

One of the reasons Wally had been so eager to leave his old school had been the constantly-reinforced need to stay in the closet. And here he was and the first two dudes he met were married to each other. 

“ _Anyway_ ,” Tim pointedly turned back to Wally, “Dick will be so happy to see you.” 

Would he, though? And more importantly - “Does he teach here?” 

“Does he ever.” 

“Jason’s just here on loan,” Tim explained. “He usually teaches at the other end of town. Dick’s the one that roped him into this.” 

“That’s cool. That you’re doing that, I mean; in my old school people always refused to help out even when we didn’t have an English teacher for six months—” 

“Right,” Jason said. “Let’s get going.” 

This was good, Wally thought as he followed Jason through even more corridors. He’d get to see Dick again, but he’d have time to prepare for it. Once he sorted through the mix of dread and joy rushing through him at the prospect, he’d be fine. Great, even. Totally cool. 

They turned a corner, and Jason called out: “Yo, Dick, check out who just joined our school!” 

Dick Grayson turned around to where he’d been talking to one of the administrators, and. Uh. 

Wow. 

Dick, as a teenager, had been short and wiry. As a young man, he’d been the epitome of an athlete, lean and with a flexibility that had caused Wally some sleepless nights.

As a man in his thirties, he was a total fucking knockout, Jesus. Where had that jawline come from?? Wally hadn’t acquired anything like that. It was unfair! 

“Wall-Man!” 

“Robin!” Wally called back, unable to resist that smile or the hug Dick immediately drew him into. 

“I haven’t seen you in ages!” Dick grinned. “Awesome to have you here, Walls.” 

See, that was the thing about Dick. He might be one of the weirdest people Wally knew, thanks to his family, but also the nicest. He’d even pretend it hadn’t been Wally’s massive, creepy crush on him that had caused him to flee to the other side of the planet. 

“Yeah, well, last thing I heard, you were in China. What in God’s name possessed you to come back here?” 

Dick shrugged, running a hand through his hair. “I dunno, man, it always comes back to this, doesn’t it?” 

Considering the situation, he and Dick in a hallway in Gotham, Wally had to agree. “I guess.” 

When the silence stretched on a bit too long, Dick finally looked away from Wally. “Hey, Jason, if you want, I can take over the tour—” 

Jason had already left. 

It was incredible how easy it was to fall back into old patterns with Dick. Two months in and Wally was as regularly a guest in Dick’s office as Dick was at Wally’s apartment after work, which is to say, almost every day, including today.

“Do you need anything else?” he heard Dick say. The group of students shook their heads, so Wally had no qualms about walking in. 

“Walls, hey,” Dick smiled when he saw him. “Lemme just finish that form, and I’m all yours.” 

“That’s what I like to hear.” Wally was dying to tell Dick about the shit John from 4a had tried to pull away, but it would need to wait until the group of students that was still lingering outside had moved out of earshot.

“See, I _told_ you he’d be taken,” he heard one of them say. “Guys like that don’t reach their thirties single. He’s certainly not interested in _you_.” 

“Oh, shut up!” 

“Don’t be sad,” a third voice interjected helpfully. “Mr Grayson is like the hottest teacher around. No shame in losing out.” 

Wally would very much like to tell them how much he resented the implication he would go for a teenage girl if Dick were slightly less hot.

Wait, what was he thinking? 

Wally glanced at Dick. He was still focused on his paperwork and hadn’t heard anything. 

Good. Last thing Wally needed was for his stupid crush to fuck things up between them again.

“So that’s happening again, huh?” 

“...why are you crowding me into a wall?” Wally asked curiously. It was quite impressive, really, the way Jason towered over him despite not being _that_ much taller. If Wally weren’t so sure he could outrun Jason, he would even feel slightly intimidated. 

Jason backed off a bit, still glowering. “Just be glad it’s me and not the munchkin parade. Damian was all for locking you two into an attic at swordpoint.” He pointed his thumb vaguely into the direction of Dick’s office. “I’ve heard the _students_ discussing running interference, Wally. This has to stop.” 

Wally sighed. Trust the Waynes to have figured him out. “Am I that obvious?” 

“Not obvious enough, apparently.” Jason snorted. “Do us all a favor and actually kiss him this time. He’s a dumbass who thinks this has always been one-sided.” 

“Well, yeah.” Wally’s brain decided to skip right over ‘kiss him,’ because _what_. “It has, I’m just being stupid; I know Dick isn’t interested in me that way, but it’s so nice to have him back, he’s my best friend and I missed him so much, that’s more important than being in love with him.”

“I think that you need to kiss him,” Jason said again, more loudly, and why was he speaking so loudly, almost as if he wanted someone else than Wally to hear it—

Wally turned. 

Dick was gaping at him. There wasn’t a better word for it. Even he couldn’t make that level of ‘wtf’ look attractive. 

Of course, he’d heard all of that. Wally wanted to sink into the ground. “You, uh. Maybe wanna talk about that?” 

“Yeah,” Dick nodded. “Yeah, I think we should.” He made toward his office but abruptly turned back before he’d finished the movement. “No, actually, we should follow Jason’s advice.” 

Wally heard grumbling behind him. “I’ve been saying.” He’d tear Jason a new one for this, he swore, right after he found out what Dick meant by that. 

And then he did find out and forget all about Jason Todd, because Dick was—

rather predictably, but still incomprehensibly to Wally—kissing him, and that was more important than anything else. 

The first few years after Dick had left, Wally had idly fantasized about this. In his mind, there had been elaborate love confessions that displayed a degree of coherency neither of them ever possessed in real life; kisses in the rain, maybe, or at an airport; Dick somehow swooping in and rescuing Wally from what his life had become. 

Later, when he’d started getting his shit together, the phantasies turned more mundane. What it would be like to have Dick with him again. How Dick would laugh at Wally’s impression of his annoying boss; whether he’d get along with Wally’s new friends; what Dick’s opinion on fidget toys might be. 

And yes, how it would feel to be kissing him the corridor for the entire world to see. That, too. 

The answer? 

Even better than Wally could’ve ever imagined. 


End file.
